Snow Bound by Harry Mazer

Author:Harry Mazer [Mazer, Harry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-54689-0
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2011-05-11T04:00:00+00:00

10

WHERE WERE THE PEOPLE?

In the fading light a crow appeared, black and feathered, its ragged wings blotting the evening sky. “He’s beautiful,” Cindy said.

“They’ll be coming now,” Tony said. “Now that the snow has stopped, someone will come looking for us. By morning, sure.” His breath came in little white spurts.

“Smoke signals,” Cindy said, making her breath puff the same way. “Frozen words. Maybe somebody will see them, like secret messengers. Did you ever wonder, Tony, what happens to the words you speak? Where do they go after you say them? If you could know how they travel, you could direct them to anyone in the world. Hello out there, world! We’re here! Come and get us!”

Her voice echoed off the dark hills. Both of them listened intently for an answering sound. “Yell again,” Tony said excitedly. “I think I hear something.”

They called together. “Hell-ooooo out there! Hello-oooo!” Each time, Cindy told herself that this time somebody would hear them. They called until it grew dark and their voices were hoarse. They kept the window open longer than they should have.

“This is futile,” Cindy said, shivering. Tony rolled up the window, leaving it open a crack on top. It seemed incredible that nobody answered. Where were the people? Even though they had such high hopes for the next day, the prospect of another night in the car was depressing. They talked about the problems of keeping the fire alive through the night. If they both fell asleep, it would certainly go out. And how long would their paper fuel last? Already they were using the last of the newspaper for their miniature logs, which burned up shockingly fast. Cindy said if it came to that, she’d gladly burn her books. “My geometry book first.”

“I’m going out and see if I can find some wood,” Tony said.

“In the dark?”

“You ought to get out of this car, too,” he said. “You’ve got to move, keep your circulation going.”

“How can I, with my feet this way?” She could barely put her weight on them.

“Don’t you even have to answer nature’s call?” he said.

“I have the constitution of a camel.”

Tony rolled down the back window on his side and rolled out of the car, head first. She watched as he made a path through the snow, until he disappeared against the darkness of the woods. Despite the cold, she kept the window wide open, listening for the sound of snapping wood. Not seeing Tony, she felt uneasy. “Tony? You okay?” she called.

He returned carrying an armful of dead branches that he pushed through the back window. “I’m going for evergreens now,” he said. “For bedding.”

This time when he returned with his arms loaded, he pushed the fragrant green boughs into the front on her side. Then he climbed back into the car himself. “I’m frozen.” He peeled off his gloves to warm his hands around the fire can. “The fire’s out!” he said indignantly. “You were supposed to keep it going.”

She’d completely forgotten the fire.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.